Frazod's Great Technology Leap of 2023

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Frazod

One thing I've learned is that in order to get local channels, I'll need to get some sort of service like Hulu, Sling or YouTubeTV (or **** around with antennas, which I'm not going to do because I'd need to mount one for each TV). I was all set to get Hulu, since it includes Disney Plus, but apparently Hulu and Sling don't work and play well with T-Mobile. The reason is that T-Mobile, being completely wireless, will occasionally change your IP address (because... reasons), and Hulu interprets this as you attempting to use the service away from your home, so their service stops working without notice. Restoring it requires calling customer service, since it has to be fixed on their end, or logging out and back in with a mobile device. And that's a pain in the ass I'm simply not willing to deal with, especially in the middle of a game. Since T-Mobile is my only decent high speed option, it looks like YouTubeTV is the service I'm going with, regardless of whether or not I continue Sunday Ticket. Some good news - I've seen that they also have an arrangement with T-Mobile, so I should be able to get a break on the monthly subscription price. Have to check on that. The bad news is I still have to pay extra for Disney Plus. And I probably won't go with Sunday Ticket for now, since pretty much all Chiefs games are either in prime time or locally broadcast. I might miss a couple of them or have to find some backdoor stream, but there's no need to pay through the nose for a service I've barely needed since the Chiefs became the NFL's apex predator.

I may end up dumping some other services that I rarely use, like Netflix and Apple TV.

Also checked on what I have to do with my DTV shit when I cancel with them. I'll probably have to return the various boxes (dump them at a local FedEx or UPS store at no charge, if they want them back at all), but not the dish itself. Which means getting the ****ing thing off the side of my house is on me, but there's no need to do it immediately (or ever, I guess, if I don't mind it being there).

YoutubeTV does the same location check that Hulu and others do. Not every single time you open the app. But every 3 months, it requires you to do a location check from your home address. Not sure if that will give you an issues with T-Mobile.

[gh4chiefs]

Originally Posted by Frazod

or **** around with antennas, which I'm not going to do because I'd need to mount one for each TV).

Well I can’t believe I’m going to suggest this given my experience but I thought I’d throw this out just a FYI. Since you already have Firesticks you might want to look at the Amazon Recast. You hook it to the antenna and you can stream either a live OTA signal or recorded content to each TV with a Firestick.

And thanks for the heads up on Hulu and T-Mobile, you kept me from making a mistake.

[lawrenceRaider]

How far out do you live from a major city? I just use an antenna. My folks do as well and they are 15 or so miles north of Springfield.

[Zebedee DuBois]

I have T-Mobile internet and YouTubeTV.

I still have HULU, but not the LiveTV version - that doesn't work with TM
On YouTubeTV, you can enter your zip code, so that it will load your local ABC,CBS,NBC,PBS, and Fox channels.
You will find that despite that - you will get commercials and search results that are not local. If your streaming service airs ads, they may be from out of state. When you do a search from your laptop for Lowes or Best Buy - it will probably default your local store to somewhere that is not your local store. Easy enough to change, but still off-putting.

[Zebedee DuBois]

I was getting ad-free Hulu for $14/month.
The offered a bundle of Hulu with ads, ESPN+, Disney+ for $11, after 3 months it went up to $16/month.
I intended to cancel, but haven't. There are always a few games on ESPN+ I like to catch.

[Loneiguana]

I don't know hard it was to set up, but the guy who owned my house before me installed a nice antenna in the attic. He then ran the cable down the walls. I only have it hooked up the the living room TV, but if I wanted a TV in the bedroom, I could hook it to the antenna. Same with downstairs.

It's get HD and picks up a lot of channels for rural missouri.

Again, I don't know what it cost or how hard it was to install. I'm glad he did it though. We were easily able to cut the cord with that. I'd try to duplicate this set up if I happen to ever move.

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by Loneiguana

I don't know hard it was to set up, but the guy who owned my house before me installed a nice antenna in the attic. He then ran the cable down the walls. I only have it hooked up the the living room TV, but if I wanted a TV in the bedroom, I could hook it to the antenna. Same with downstairs.

It's get HD and picks up a lot of channels for rural missouri.

Again, I don't know what it cost or how hard it was to install. I'm glad he did it though. We were easily able to cut the cord with that. I'd try to duplicate this set up if I happen to ever move.

Might be easier to get an HDHomerun box and connect the antenna to that instead of running all the wires. Most people are running something that can use the HDHomerun app. Works great on my network.

[Frazod]

I don't want to **** around with antennas. I live in a townhouse so I can't put anything on the roof, and I've had very limited success with interior antennas previously, although to be fair that was several years ago.

I'm just going to get YouTubeTV and be done with it. I'm still coming out way ahead compared to what I've been paying for DTV/AT&T.

[gh4chiefs]

Originally Posted by Frazod

I don't want to **** around with antennas. I live in a townhouse so I can't put anything on the roof, and I've had very limited success with interior antennas previously, although to be fair that was several years ago.

I'm just going to get YouTubeTV and be done with it. I'm still coming out way ahead compared to what I've been paying for DTV/AT&T.

Yeah I get it. I live in a condo and have the same issue.

[Frazod]

Last TV connected via Firestick. Cancelling AT&T/DTV right now. I'm on hold with the AT&T guy. Bracing myself for any last minute ****ery they might pull.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Frazod

Last TV connected via Firestick. Cancelling AT&T/DTV right now. I'm on hold with the AT&T guy. Bracing myself for any last minute ****ery they might pull.

I hear ya, we just cancelled Dish this week, I spent over 40 minutes on the phone and gave up, Mrs. got it done the next day by spending most of the morning on hold.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

I hear ya, we just cancelled Dish this week, I spent over 40 minutes on the phone and gave up, Mrs. got it done the next day by spending most of the morning on hold.

Actually, AT&T was all that bad. The only thing they did was not tell me about a second piece of equipment they wanted back. Seemed too good to be true that they'd only want one receiver. So I called them, and after about 15 minutes the guy confirmed that they also wanted the router back. Had I gone by the initial email they'd have come after for an additional $150, and while I probably could have gotten out of it, it would have been a pain in the ass and really made me angry. But that 15 minutes was a big deal. Ounce of prevention, as they say.

Doing fine without Sunday Ticket. Today's game is being broadcast locally, as usual. Obviously next week's game will be as well, but I'll be watching that one in person.

[displacedinMN]

Isnt this digital/streaming/etc a big pain in the ass?
it is not easier than before.


Frazod-I have a lot of things connected to Alexa. At first I thought it was overkill. But I like automation. My outdoor lights come on at a designated time and turn off at a designated time. I can tell Alexa to do things. I have Alexa play playlists for Halloween and Christmas to make my outside lights move.

Having it turn on my stove or looking inside my fridge from Belize would be too much.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

Isnt this digital/streaming/etc a big pain in the ass?
it is not easier than before.


Frazod-I have a lot of things connected to Alexa. At first I thought it was overkill. But I like automation. My outdoor lights come on at a designated time and turn off at a designated time. I can tell Alexa to do things. I have Alexa play playlists for Halloween and Christmas to make my outside lights move.

Having it turn on my stove or looking inside my fridge from Belize would be too much.

It was a pain in the ass getting everything set up, but I'm fine with it now. I was worried that the wife would be annoyed, but she seems to prefer the new service.

And I don't do Alexa.

[Bearcat]

I'm curious about your TMobile Internet service now that it's been a couple weeks.... still seeing the same speed/performance as you did to start?